On the Outside Looking In
by Titan09
Summary: Changed da name! Hellboy and a teenage girl find each other in a demon encounter. Will the girl help or hurt the BPRD team? Based off the movie, one year after its events...Prof. Broom is alive, though. R&R please!
1. Prologue and Ch 1: A new Beginning

OK...so, this is my first Hellboy fanfiction. I don't own any of Hellboy, I only own my character Evanescence Not the singer, I own nothing of her, either.  
enjoy!  
Titan

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Living my life alone, I have learned to take care of myself. From demons to making enough money to keep rent in apartments and food on the crummy decaying table in cheap run-down shacks some people call 'home.'

Why, you ask, is a teenage girl living on her own, away from friends and family and everything else a girl my age should have?

Well, my reader, I am a witch….I think.

I have many supernatural powers, sure, (just about anything with the word 'tele' in it….not tele_phone_, though….) but no one was really there to train me and stuff. I basically just trained myself, so I don't even know the full extent of my powers.

Now I've moved to New Jersey…I had a vision that these people needed help with something paranormal.

Oh, by the way, my name's Evanescence.

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Chapter 1: A New Beginning

I tipped the taxi and headed into the cheap, run-down apartment building. _Are you really this desperate, Ev? _I asked myself when I came to the landlord's room, watching my step for any rotting floorboards.

"Um…..hi. I was looking for an apartment that would be affordable but still in living conditions?" I asked through the mail slot, a yellowish eye peering through it.

"Who wanssa know?" a voice slurred from the mailslot.

"A customer" I responded. The door flew open immediately. Inside was a man in a stained white (now offwhite) undershirt, low sweatpants, high boxer shorts, with a balding head and 10:00 shadow.

"You Ev'n?" he meant my name, Evan. I had reserved a room earlier……not like a line of people leading outside the door were waiting for one.

"Yup. Is 213 still open?" I asked.

"Nope, s'rry. I don' sell ta kids." The landlord said.

I sighed. "How much?" I pulled out my rather full wallet, the man's piggy eyes widening.

"$50 a munth." he had a mischievious look on his face. His mouth twisted into a smirk.

"'K. Do I pay at the beginning, middle, or end of the month?"

"Ya pay me now f'r the firs' munth." the man responded, his plump hand extending, sausage-like fingers twitching.

I handed him the $50 and he showed me to my room.

"It needs a li'l wurk, but fur an extra $40--"

"_No_." I gave him a stern look.

He backed away a few steps and opened the creaking door into my….**_very_** humble abode. I looked around….it made those decaying houses in horror movies seem nice and clean. _This is gonna be a **long **month._


	2. Not what you would expect

I walked in the lonely park and breathed in the cool, clean, fresh night air, enjoying it until I had to go back to the damp, dirty, musty apartment air.

"Oh, gosh------" I put a hand to my head, feeling another head-splitting, mind-numbing vision coming on. My face contorted in pain as images and emotions flooded my consciousness. I dropped my warm…**_expensive_** hot chocolate as I collapsed on the park ground, seeing a woman about in her 20s being attacked by a warlock who looked like a mix of Igor and a classic goblin. When the images and pain subsided, I immediately ran to the site of the attack: a mental facility.

The attack had already started when I ran up, panting, to a brick wall. Using my momentum, I hurled myself over the 8 foot barrier. My eyes (which showed my emotions) glowed an angry red as I used my mind to send the beast flying into the wall perpendicular to the one I jumped over, also trying to calm the mental patient's mind from the attack, attempting to put her under the belief that she was merely dreaming, when I encountered in her mind a knowledge of things supernatural.

In this telekinetic outburst, I sensed an inhuman being behind me. Suddenly, I felt an unwelcome surge of power inside me, pulling me in like an undertoe. I smashed the still unseen being into the front brick gate behind me, and in this revelation of power, thought it would be best to go before I cause any further damage. So, I ran as fast as I could, launching myself over the back wall to find a place to calm down and control my further growing powers.

I came upon an abandoned building resembling a large car garage/ auto repair warehouse. Sitting down on a small crate, I leaned my back against a large cylindrical support beam and tried not to send the trash in the room flying every which way.

From behind me, a low voice rumbled, "That was quite a performance back there." I'm usually very jumpy—I probably just leaped two feet in the air from my sitting position—and a large release of telekinetic power just made that aspect worse. A rebar came flying and hit the unseen stranger through the chest.

"OHMYGOSH!" I screeched. My eyes went stark white from fear as I turned around to start a never ending string of apologies and help the poor man with the rebar.

But the person behind me—though it resembled a man—was not human. It might have been almost 7 feet tall with red skin, black hair, 2 circles over the eyes—horns, maybe?—,a red tail, and an oversized right hand that looked to be made of stone.

"_Dang_!" was his only exclamation to the flying rebar in the same deep voice. I rushed down to help him, my eyes still white from shock. Then to me he said, "You blind, kid?"

"No, I just---I got really scared, is all. My eyes reflect my emotions." I explained, my eyes fading back to their normal blue-grey. Looking into his eyes, I notice them to be a goldish yellow. "A-are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." the…demon said it as though teenage telekinetics impale him with rebars every day. "I don't get hurt easily."

"Here; let me help you with that." I indicated the metal rod and concentrated—enough to expel the foreign object from his system but also restricted enough so I didn't make him implode, or something. He grunted as the rebar was forced from his chest and he started to collapse. I made a point that if I hurt someone, I would take care of them, so I rushed over to keep him upright. _**Whoa**, he's pretty heavy_, I thought as I struggled to keep myself balanced enough so I wouldn't become the world's first two-dimensional witch.

He groaned. "I _got_ it!" He pushed himself upright and pried me from his torso…my height only reached about to the bottom of his chest. "You got a name?"

"Evanescence----Evan." I extended my hand, only to correct myself that, because he has a stone right hand, I should shake the left—and normal—one.

"Hellboy."


	3. New life, yet again

THANK YOU! to pizzaluvr and epalladino for reviewing this story! I always like to know what you guys think about the stories I write! (hug!)  
Sorry I haven't updated for a while...but now I have a few chapters that are ready to be uploaded.  
Enjoy!

Titan :)

Also, the prices listed for rent I know are completely unrealistic...just go along with it. $50 for rent can be a good thing! ;)--Titan  
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"Sooo….have you had these powers for long, or are they new?" Hellboy interrogated me. We sat on the ground of the warehouse, exchanging questions and trying to stop HB's bleeding.

"All my life. I've been a telewhoosit forever." I responded.

"Telekinetic?" Hellboy tried to correct me.

"Not, really. I can also read people's thoughts and astral project, but I'm pretty sure the eye thing isn't telekinetic.  
"I know you probably get this question a lot, but what…race are you?"

Hellboy grimaced; he had a massive underbite. "Not sure. I was summoned from another dimension thingie 60 years ago. A professor took me in and made me his son. We think that I'm a demon…I hate that word."

"Why?"

"'Cuz I fight demons. I don't wanna be considered scum like them; I'm different."

I smiled at this. "I fight demons, too! But—" I was cut off as a crackling went off and Hellboy's jacket mumbled something. He pulled a walkie-talkie from an inner pocket and asked the person on the other end to repeat their statement.

"Meyers to Big Red—where are you? You've been gone for more than an hour! We knew you were gonna visit Liz, but we got worried when we called and Liz said you left! What happened?"

"Big Red? Dang, the only nicknames that I get are freak, weirdo, witch, half-pint, and my favorite: 'Hey, Kid'." I teased. "Who're Liz and Meyers?"

"Later." He told me and quickly said into the speaker of the walkie-talkie, "Be right there. I might have a new recruit." He put the communicator away, then asked me, "Where are your parents?"

"Dunno. I live alone."

"Did you run away?" Hellboy looked at me disapprovingly.

"No! I've always lived alone. Currently, I live in a junkyard apartment on 57th." I corrected, giving Hellboy a look back.

Hellboy hesitated, thinking of how to put something into words. "Then…..would you like to come back with me and…uh, fight demons in a secret government agency?"

"COOL!" I shouted, (regretting it after several crates smashed themselves against the wall) thinking of the possibilities of this 'agency'.

Hellboy smiled and nodded in approval. "Follow me."

I followed Hellboy in the shadows back to where the demon attacked the woman, still on edge with more power than I could currently handle, occasionally flipping parked cars and rolling dumpsters into—still—more cars.

"Uhh…. sorry I threw you into that brick wall earlier." I meekly said, eyes turning a soft black from grief.

"It's _okay_! I told you that you can't hurt me--" he glanced at his chest—"easily." I laughed and my eyes inked from deep black to yellow (like Hellboy's) from happiness and acceptance.

We walked to the mental facility, where I saw men in suits (looked like FBI agents...or those robot things on Matrix..._Mr. Anderson_), a large garbage truck with the logo "Squeaky Clean Garbage Centers", and the woman from my vision talking to a young man about her age.

"Hey Boyscout, Liz." Hellboy greeted the woman and…...'boyscout'. He said the name 'Liz' like it was something delecate and precious. (singsong voice: big red guy's got a cruuuush! ;) )

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Boyscout?" the…_non_-boyscout chided. Then he turned to me; "My name's John Meyers. I'm Hellboy's caretaker." He held out a hand for me to shake. My eyes immediately changed from yellow to a meek grey; I'm _really_ shy (with humans…that didn't happen with Hellboy.). I took in a sharp breath, my power taking me under again, and it threw John back a few steps.

I started to whimper inwardly, "sorry." I tried to turn and run away, but Hellboy turned and grabbed my arm with his stone one before I could take a few steps. I kept my head down; I couldn't bear to look at any of them. Then I sensed something…sympathy and understanding from the woman.

She put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "……we can help you." I looked up into her eyes. Though, I sensed an immediate dislike of this, so I quickly looked back down again. "Why did you come here to that demon?"

"I had a vision of you getting attacked." I responded simply, staring at my feet. Hellboy let go of my arm and used the same hand to roughly tap my chin, making me look up at them; I made a point to avoid the woman's eyes.

The woman smiled in wonder; "A vision?"

"If you don't mind telling us, what are they like?" Meyers asked, also fascinated.

I non-humerously half-smirked. "To put it mildly, they're like having your skull cracked open with a dull chisel and getting molten lava poured inside."

Hellboy grimaced. "Soo….they hurt?"

"Yyeeah." I responded bluntly.

Hellboy immediately changed the subject. "You guys ready to go back to the BPRD?"

I raised and eyebrow. "The what? The _Burp_?"(AN: I got the 'Burp' joke off of 'Bump in the Night' by oldscout1011...great joke, great fanfic, but please don't get mad. I gave you credit for it!)

Meyers decided to break the rather thick ice between him and me. "The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Not Burp."

"Ohhhh! That's why you knew about the paranormal!" I directed the last part at Liz. "When I tried to calm you at the attack, I saw brief glimpses of a red dude—Hellboy—and also a few memory flashes with a girl engulfed in blue flames."

Now it was Liz's turn to look down. Hellboy put in, "Liz is a pyrokinetic. In other words, she can--"

"I know." I interrupted.

"_Anyway,_" Hellboy said, agitated, "she sometimes loses control. It's not the easiest thing for her to deal with." With that, Hellboy tried to put a comforting stone arm around Liz's shoulders, only to get it shrugged off.

"Can we just get my stuff and go, please?" Liz didn't want to dwell on her experiences with her 'episodes'.

"I'll go get it." John offered. "Is your camera up there?" Liz nodded.

"You do photography?" I asked.

"Not professionaly, but with all the Polaroids I make in a month is enough to wallpaper a wall in my room." Liz informed.

Meyers came down with a Polaroid camera in one hand and a stack of pictures in the other. "Do you have anything you want to get…er…?" he asked me

"Evanescence….Evan. Yeah; my apartment's on 57th if that's not too far out of the way."

"Not at all!" Meyers responded, "Er…doesn't 'evanescence' mean 'the act of disappearing'?"

"Yup. But I've never been called anything else…I think my parents used to call me that."

"Wait…I thought you said you don't live with your parents!" Hellboy accused childishly.

"My parents contacted me when I was in a coma in the hospital 10 years ago."

"What were you doing in a coma?" John asked.

"According to what they said, there was a demon attack when I was 2, and though they…didn't survive, I was in a coma for a couple of years. They kept saying 'Evanescence', but I woke up too early to find out more.

"Can we go now? It's kinda uncomfortable for people I barely know interrogating me about something I'm not even sure of myself."

The 3 apologized and we headed over to the dumpster impersonating an apartment building (Liz and I rode in black Saturns and Hellboy was forced into the garbage truck.)

When we arrived, John Meyers came out with Hellboy, but Liz had slight claustrophobia, and the building istelf was very cramped, let alone the rooms. Hellboy came only out of the excuse that I was still vulnerable with my outburst, despite my insisting that it has happened before and I know how to handle myself.

I headed toward the landlord's room to give the key back and announce that I was leaving, warning John (and especially the 300 lb. red dude also known as Hellboy) of the rotting floorboards. This time, when I knocked on Mr. Oldman's (that was really his name!) door, he opened his peephole right away, instead of questioning who I was.

"What'dya want, kid?" Mr. O asked me in his usual drunken stuper-sounding voice (sometimes I wonder if it is _only_ his voice, or if he really was in a drunken stupor).

"Well, here's the key--" I slipped it through the open mailslot—"and I would like the rest of the money I paid you a week ago."

"Why'ddI do tha'?" Mr. Oldman gave me a look as if I were a naughty child who always got into trouble.

"I paid you for a month's rent, I stayed for a week. Those extra weeks add up to enough money to make a difference, Mr. O." I told him simply.

"Ah'm s'ill not gonna give yeh the mun'y. Yeh paid, I gave yeh a room, yeh li'l maggot!" some saliva flew through the open hole to me. I was rather surprised; not because of the spit (Mr. O seemed like the type who always appeared to have too much spit for their mouth to cleanly house), but because of how greedily he spat (literally and figuratively) 'maggot'. Sure I knew he was greedy, but not _this_ much.

Hellboy, who had been standing out of view of the peek-hole, came up to the slot. He was tall enough so all dirty, cheap Mr. Oldman could see of Hellboy was his large, red, under-bite-evident mouth. "How about you give the kid the extra money, _maggot_." he growled the last part, a hint of humor in the booming voice. I stifled a snicker. Mr. Oldman was _terrified_. The extra money (plus interest ;D) was slipped through the mailslot. Hellboy looked at me questioningly after I counted the wad. I nodded; this was everything. Hellboy, looking mischevious, growled one last time to Mr. O. We all heard a girlish squeal through the door. I couldn't take it anymore; I burst into fits of laughter. Meyers also sniggered and Hellboy gave a satisfied grunt and headed towards 213.

"Prepare yourselves." I warned them of the mess they were about to see. "Especially you, John. This place isn't built for human habitation. It's not even cockroach compatible." I opened the door with some extra power I had left (I used as little power as possible, but it still almost broke the door off its hinges.). While John and HB stood in the doorway in awe or horror, I went to pack the small amount of things I had. I was done in a matter of minutes, lugging a backpack, gym bag, and guitar bag.

"You said this place was a mess, but it's not much worse than my room." Hellboy informed me as we headed back toward our rides.

Meyers' eyes widened and sparkled with laughter; "Listen to him; I'm the one who helps clean up the place. Didn't you lose a couple cats, Hellboy?"

Hellboy mumbled defensively, "They came back in a few days."

"Oh, boy." I said sarcastically. I couldn't even _imagine_ what Hellboy's room looked like.

John noticed the guitars slung over my back (I had an acoustic and electric.) "You play? Guitar, I mean."

"Yup. I'm kind of in a band, too."

Hellboy snapped out of his trance (probably thinking of Liz) and looked at my guitars. "Oh, goody. A rock star. Or are you one of those ditzy blonde pop girls? ……you _do_ know the difference between chicken and tuna, and that buffalo wings _aren't_ really buffalo?"

"What? They aren't! Whatever. I'm only in a _garage band_; think realistically. What would people think if I stop singing and playing and start, like, throwing things at the audience telepathically with one of my outbursts, or astral project somewhere off the stage?"

"You can astral project?" John asked me.

"Yeah, but I'm not that good. It takes some practice."

We arrived at the cars and I put my stuff in the Saturn trunk and got in with Liz. Hellboy grumbled and reluctantly got into the garbage truck, and John got into the truck's driver seat.

R&R please! I'll update soon!


	4. Monsters, Inc

Sorry it took a while to update...I've been busy. There's some graphic stuff in here, but it really depends on your defenition of the word...oh, well.  
Enjoy!  
;) Titan  
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We arrived at a standard-looking building. The vehicles entered the gloomy front gate and came around the back to a parking garage. There, the cars parked and we came through a large door that entered the building.

Meyers spoke into something at his wrist. "Take us to 51." he told whoever was on the other line. Almost immediately, the floor lurched and we slowly descended to another level of a (much larger) building beneath the garbage company guise.

I noticed that on the wall there was a large 51 in a circle; the only door was a richly carved wooden one.

We entered through the door and inside was a large, peaceful office that probably doubled as a library. There were several rows of books; another floor was necessary to house them all. On the bottom level, though, there was a huge tank with some book stands in front, each one housing one or two books, all of them opened. I did a complete circle, soaking in my cozy, warm, book-scented surroundings.

"Wow! Who's office is this?" I practically whispered, attempting not to disturb the peace-filled silence.

Hellboy said proudly, "My father's." Images flew through my mind on what HB's dad looks like. A thought flashed through my mind; _Is his dad human, or…..like him?_ "He shares it with someone else, too."

I felt a gentle probing in my mind. Instinctively, I put up a defense, and the probing strangely stopped. Usually, psychics try to get past the brick wall closing them off from my head.

_Thump!_ I (quite visibly) flinched, unintentionally throwing half of the books off a shelf with my unharnessed power. Immediately, I noticed that the noise was muffled. _Thump! _I turned towards the fish tank, doubtful that the sound was coming from whatever was in there. "Please turn the pages." I heard a bubbly, static-y voice come from speakers I noticed were connected to the aquarium. A man showed himself from the rather murky waters of the tank. Was he a man? He had light blue skin, no hair, gills opening and closing beneath his jaw bone, had graceful green-blue markings exposed by his bare chest, his large eyes were black with eyelids that came sliding in from the sides, and his hands and feet were webbed.

He gestured a webbed hand towards the book stands. "The _pages_." He gently urged.

"This is Abraham Sapien." A male's voice said. An old, frail man descended the spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

"Dad." I heard Hellboy murmur behind me. _He_ was Hellboy's dad?

"Do you have psychics in this place..erm…?" I wasn't sure what to call the man, but I was still curious about the probing I felt earlier.

"I am Trevor Bruttenholm; please call me Prof. Broom." the man answered, "And Abe here has a unique frontal lobe, which enables him to read a person's thoughts." As if on cue, I felt a welcoming brush against my consciousness.

"Your ability, though unharnessed, contains quite a lot of potential." Abe, the fish-man, complimented me.

"Thank you, but I do know how to control my teke; I just got somewhat of a power boost that I haven't 'harnessed' yet."

"Ah, but you do not know the great extent of your powers. You have learned the basics, but when you receive 100 of it, you will become an extreme danger to all around you." Abe glanced agitatedly at his un-turned pages.

My eyes gleamed red for a split second then became normal as I walked over to Abe's tank and turned the thin pages for him to read. Sure, I knew there are things I don't know about my teke, but the truth still hurt when voiced aloud. After turning the last page, I moved so Abe could read his books and I could get a better perspective of the place.

My hand brushed against the cool glass and I immediately felt a pressure on my skull. I grimaced in pain as I yelped and my knees buckled while images of people, their feelings, a place and a demon flashed through my head. There was a flame-throwing creature in the middle of a crowded subway, attacking anyone who got in its way. I screamed as I saw a young man get his forearms very seriously burned while trying to find someone in the fray. Cringing, my arms became like the boys'; searing pain to add to the immense torture in my head.

Then, as quickly as it came, the vision stopped. I opened my eyes to see Abe kneeling down in his tank next to me, with Hellboy, Broom, and Meyers (Liz wanted to get her room at the BPRD back in order) crowded around me. I tried to catch my breath as Hellboy helped lift me up, careful not to agitate my burned arms.

"You should go get that checked out." Meyers advised.

"No!" I argued. "You don't know what I saw!"

"Actually," Broom put a soft, withered hand on my shoulder, "Abe was able to tap into what you were seeing. He has informed us of what will be happening and we have readied some agents and Hellboy for the event."

My eyes shut tight as Hellboy tensed-------"AAAAAACHHHHHH-----" I held in a sneeze as I couldn't cover my mouth and infect my injured hands, nor could I direct my sneeze in another direction, spreading germs in this peaceful office. "Hey!" I snapped at Hellboy; he was holding me as if a meer sneeze would throw me off balance. "It wasn't a vision! I----VISION!" Images surged through my head as Hellboy was attempting to keep me still. I saw Abe; he was getting torn at by claws of which I couldn't see the owner. Deep gashes similar to the ones I saw materialized on my back and torso, staining Hellboy with blood. The premonition subsided, but instead of seeing the serene environment of Brooms office, I saw black.

Hoped you liked it! R&R!  
Titan


	5. He's a person!

Sorry it took me a while to update...I haven't been able really to get on my comp much lately.   
Thanks for the reviews, everyone! It's always good to hear that someone is reading my stories. To other readers that are not members of this site, you can review, too! I am able to recieve anonymous reviews! So...tell me what ya think!

Also, a warning to Tom Manning fans, I am NOT a fan, so this Tom in the story is kinda mean. I don't know how the character is in the comic, but I didn't like him being such a butthole to Hellboy in that one scene in the movie. And because that's my only impression of Tom, he is a butthole in this fanfic, also. :)  
This chap's cool, though; you get to see Evan's power in action! (and on Tom, too!)

Enjoy!  
--Titan  
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I woke to seeing a small infirmary, bandages covering my arms and torso (but still keeping my modesty). Next to me, Hellboy was also being treated.

I sat up quickly; "What are you DOING here! What about my premonition?" I quickly found out I was still groggy from the pain relievers, and moving fast was a mistake. A balding doctor I learned to be known as Tom Manning eased me back down to a lying position on the table.

"Both of 'em are done; you've been out for a few hours." Hellboy answered, followed by a sharp hiss from the stinging antiseptic. I gave him a concerned look that asked him if the merman was ok. "Yeah. Abe's fine. He's just resting; for a little while, he had to fight the demon by himself."

"What about you? Didn't you get burned at the subway?"

Hellboy smiled, his tail happily twitching; "I'm fireproof."

Meyers had left; he needed to get some rest, too. It was just Manning, Hellboy, and I.

Meyers sighed and muttered under his breath, "They're all alike."

I furrowed my brow, able to hear him not because he was loud, but because the thought had ran through his head as well. "What are?"

Tom jumped, not realizing someone could have heard him. "Sorry?"

"What's all alike?"

"_Demons_." He spat. He leaned in closer to me and whispered so Hellboy couldn't hear, "You haven't seen what destruction…._he_..can do, have you?" he jerked his head over to HB.

"Destruction? He just saved a lot of people's lives." I didn't bother whispering. Hellboy brought his attention to what we were saying.

Manning winced, I had just spoken rather loudly next to his ear, and he didn't want Hellboy to hear our conversation. "He's _reckless_ is what he is. He puts more lives in danger than he saves. People get hurt when he's fighting in a crowded area."

"Yes, because it's a _crowded area_! I've accidently hurt a few people when I fight, too.

"What, exactly, do you do for this team?" I glared at him, my eyes slowly but surely melting to a furious red.

"Doc, I'd stop if I were you." Warned Hellboy, seeing the change in my eyes.

"You're not me." Manning spat at Hellboy, then turned to me, "But you're not a demon!"

"I'm darn well close to being one!" The volume in the room was increasing with every sentence. Only Hellboy noticed the lab equipment start to vibrate.

"You want to know what I do!"

"You mean besides complaining about what Hellboy does?"

"I have to clean up his screw-ups! Every time he gets seen or photographed, it's ME who has to explain it on television! Every time someone gets hurt because of HIM, it's ME who has to take care of them!"

I flew out of my chair, ignoring the yelps of pain from my body, urging me to sit back down. "He's a better person than you can ever hope to be!"

"HE'S NOT A PERSON!" Manning's face was turning maroon. At any other time, it would have been funny.

"He saves the frikkin' world **_every day_**!" I didn't notice when my body finally gave out. I started to collapse when Hellboy came out of his seat to keep me from falling, trying to avoid hurting his own injuries even further.

"Sit down." He said calmly to me. He didn't want me to get worked up over Manning's personal issues against Hellboy. It wasn't the first time this had happened to him.

Manning decided to try and surpress his anger, making his face a deeper maroon. "_Demons don't save the world_." He had to hiss through his teeth to keep from screaming at me.

"The world is all about choice." My voice was shaking, trying to keep my own volume down. "Demons can _choose_ to be good or evil, as can humans and any other being in and around this dimension." I started laughing weakly. "I'm a_ teenager_, and I already know that. You are always locked up in here or a television studio to never see what goes on in the world. I'm a _direct link_ to the Powers That Be. In my visions, I see so many people doing good and bad things. I've seen people be saved by vampires, demons….and I've seen people get hurt by supposedly good witches." My eyes turned a deeper shade of red. "Like this."

Hellboy tensed, knowing something was going to happen…and it did. A great wind sped through the room, blowing things out of order. My eyes started now to glow red as Manning flew back into a window leading out into the hall. I made sure he wasn't hurt, but the point got through. The wind then stopped and I was standing again. Knowing Prof. Broom wouldn't be happy about this, I grabbed my clean but still tattered t-shirt and put it over my bandages, preparing for the worst.

"…are you going?" Hellboy asked tentatively. He wasn't sure how to feel about me now, even though he threw something at Manning that broke the same window the previous year.

I shared his flashback to when Manning had gathered enough courage within himself to say the same things to Hellboy's face last year. "Geez, Manning needs to get out more, or get a psycho-therapist or whatever.

"I'm not going, don't worry. Just getting ready for whatever your dad has to say to me…..I _really_ hope your dad doesn't have, like, anger management problems or something though. I've had enough yelling to last me a week."

"He'll be fine with you. He'll probably just tell you to control _your_ anger." We both laughed at this.

As if on cue, we heard Broom's voice from the hall. "What is the meaning of this? What happened?"

Hellboy and I walked to the frame where the window should be. Manning looked hysterical. "I want them _both **locked up**_, do you hear me! _Right now_! I want them both behind bars!"

Broom's voice, however, remained calm. "I'm sure there is an adequate explination for all of this?" He directed the question at Hellboy and I.

As if on cue, Hellboy and I simultaneously smiled weakly.  
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I hope you liked it! Also, if things seem confusing to you grammar-wise, it's (mostly) not my fault. The editing system for some reason takes out some little symbols, like in the last chap, Abe said that Evan wouldn't be able to control "100 of her power"...it was supposed to have a percent sign. 100 _percent_. It even took a phrase out of my other story...Oh, well...just try to understand the grammar mistakes. ;)

Review, please! I love hearing from you guys!


	6. We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Weeeee! I finally updated (writer's block is such an evil thing...)! K...well, I hope it was worth the wait.  
Enjoy!  
--Titan

&&&&&

The next day, after spending the rest of the night in the infirmary, I was shown around the rest of the BPRD. I was introduced to many FBI agents, including Agent Clay, who's hair plugs had finally filled in.

Hellboy noticed me staring at Agent Clay's plugs. Teasingly, he leaned down and whispered, "It used to look like doll's hair." My hand flew to my mouth, trying to stifle my laughter by biting my fist. This did nothing, though, for the burns on my knuckles. I yelped and waved my hand dramatically rapidly and danced around in a cirlce to try to ease the pain. This had caught everyone's attention, though, and it was Hellboy's turn to stifle a laugh.

I felt heat rise to my face for causing such a scene. Clenching my fists, I wished with all my heart that I was anywhere but here. A sudden wave of nausea hit me, and I swayed slightly. I tried blinking a few times, trying to steady myself and the swaying, unfocused image of the BPRD members staring at me with concerned looks in their eyes. Feeling a falling sensation in the pit of my stomach, I noticed I was being separated from my body.

My astral self had left the bewildered Bureau with my unconscious body, which had just keeled over backwards onto the concrete floor.

&&&&&&

I opened my eyes to find myself in my old apartment, standing right behind Mr. Oldman's 'cable' (yah, right—cable has more than four channels) guy, Larry.

_I astral projected! Awesome!……..no, wait. Not awesome! I shouldn't even be here! _:o

_Oh, CRAP!_

Larry turned around to my direction. Quickly, I circled around him so I was still behind the redneck TV repairman. "I got 'r dun, Eugene. She should be workin' fine nah(now) (translation: The television has been repaired as you have requested, and I did as much as I could with the minimum amount of payment that you have given me.)."

"Good. Now GO!" I heard Mr. Oldman's gruff voice from his room across the rickety hallway.

Larry didn't say anything as he moved to gather up his tools. Quickly, I rushed and dove behind a couch that was falling apart. _How do I get back? _Five minutes after I heard the door close and not hearing any other sounds in the room, I stood up and tried the first idea that popped into my head. I shut my eyes and mumbled to myself, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home…" It suddenly popped into my head that I didn't really have a permanent home as of yet. I tried something else, "There's no place like the BPRD, there's no place like the BPRD…" The dull thudding of my scuffed combat boots being 'tapped' together brought me back to my senses. "Geez, at least I don't have an Auntie M." I mumbled, rolling my eyes at my stupidity.

A good thing I noticed, though, was my impeccable psychic perception. I was aware of every living thing in the apartment. I knew Mr. Oldman lived alone in his own shabby room, but inside, I felt such sinister darkness that it made me shudder. There were three presences in the room; one was scared for their life, one was feeling glee at the other's distress, and the last was feeling such utter, raw fury that it made me feel like cowering like the first.

_Well, the first is old Oldman, that I know for sure, but…_carefully, I walked to Mr. O's door, using my telekinesis to try to avoid the squeaking boards. Curiosity overcame me to discover who the other two were as I kneeled down next to Mr. O's door and listened.

"You LET her GO!" I heard Russian accent through the door. The glee that I felt in him before had almost completely melted away. "My master made you a deal. We paid our half, and we foolishly believed you would hold up yours. _How hard is it to keep a scrawny teenager in one of your rooms?_"

I then heard Mr. O's voice, now higher pitched than I have ever heard from a grown man. "Well….she didn't like the livin' cunditions….." I had an eerie suspicion they were talking about…(gulp)…_me_.

"SHUT UP!" This was not the Russian man, or Mr. O. This voice surely didn't belong to anything natural in this dimension. This voice was indescribable in words—any word that was a synonym for 'sinister' was beyond a complete understatement. I wrapped my astral arms around myself to comfort the shudders and chills in my body (I didn't know if my physical body was reacting the same way). I shut my eyes tight, opening my mouth for a silent scream—this creature had such darkness that it took my voice away from even the declaration of such horror. _Please, let me go back!_

"Alright! It was that kid's friends! She's a member of some kinda _cult_, or something!"

The Russian man's anger was cooling, "What do you mean?"

Mr. O sounded breathless, "One of her friends…. big…'n red….He made me let her go!"

The Russian man mumbled something I could barely make out, "Anung-un-Rama…my son, you're here?"

Wait…Mr. O was talking about Hellboy…who is the Russian guy talking about? 

"Grigori, hold on, my loyal servant. I believe someone is spying on us…" I heard the 'sinister' creature's voice again. I heard steps coming towards the door. Again, I shut my eyes tight, _LET ME GO BACK! PLEASE!_

----------

_Back at the BPRD…_

"Evan…._Eeevannn.." _Hellboy squatted down to the floor—the agents hadn't moved my body anywhere. He roughly tapped my forehead, only making my head loll to the side. "Hey! Kid! No time to be sleeping."

"Well," Abe said, "This is quite a predicament."

&&&&&&&&

K. Hope you liked it! R&R please, I love hearing what you guys think!  
-- ;) Titan


	7. Author's Note

DISCLAIMER: (I know I put this in before, but I want to put it in again for safe measure) I don't own anything of Hellboy. I also don't own the idea of the visions—those were based off of Joss Wheadon's Angel, and Evan's astral projection was based off of Charmed, which I also don't own.  
The only thing I DO own is the character of Evanescence (though I don't own the band), Mr. Oldman, and the sinister demon mentioned in the last chapter (I may create some other characters as the story progresses—if you don't recognize a character, it's probably mine). If you want to use my characters from ANY story of mine, please ask first! (I would also like for you to give credit when you have permission to use them.)

Hi, guys! I'm SO sorry I haven't updated for a while. Between being busy and writer's block, I haven't been able to go on Microsoft Word for a while. But anyway, I _really _appreciate you guys continuing to read my stuff. It always makes me happy to see how other people like or dislike my writing.

On the last chapter, for readers who may be confused, the character 'Larry' was Mr. O's TV/cable repairman. A sentence was cut out explaining who he was. (I also don't own Larry—it was making fun of 'Larry the Cable Guy' from 'Blue Collar TV'.)

I would also like to respond to a few reviews, which I did do on the review section, but…..yeah.

epalladino: Thanks for the spell check. I DID also notice Myers's dialogue after he was supposed to leave the room. I'm too computer lame to know how to fix it, though. :)

Afrieal: Keep bouncin'. I'm hopefully gonna update a new chapter soon. _(hopefully…)_

hlswings: Hee. I've thought that about Manning since I saw the movie. I'm glad you think that Evan and Hellboy are alike in certain aspects—Evan's personality is pretty much mine. :)


	8. We're Baaack

Hihi! Thanks again for all the reviews, I always appreciate getting your opinions on my fanfics. ;)

Hope you enjoy the chap!  
--Titan

&&&&&&

Still on my hands and knees, I tried to scramble away from the slowly clicking doorknob as fast as I could. Breathing hard, not from exhaustion, but from fright, I dared to look up at whoever was opening the door. There stood a tall, bald man with a brown mustache and goatee dressed in ancient robes embossed with gold runes. Behind him, I saw a sweaty(er) Mr. Oldman and a pitch dark, jet-black swirling mass in the vague shape of a man. It looked as if it could be a living, 3D shadow except for the angry, snakelike blood-red eyes with no whites, just a thin black slit of a pupil.

I had never been so scared in my life. My eyes quickly fogged to a stark, bright white and I was aware of my body at the BPRD doing the same.

&&&&&

Back at the BPRD… 

I was right. Hellboy and Abe were startled to see my eyes shoot open to reveal the bright, scared white that was also reflecting upon my astral self.

"Something's wrong." A worried Hellboy grabbed for his walkie-talkie and quickly flipped to the emergency channel.

&&&&&

"Grigori…_she's_ come to _us…_" The shadow 'stepped' next to his servant, "We were just talking about you," it hissed to me.

I opened my mouth to say something, _anything_, but I couldn't.

It chuckled softly, "Yes, I have that effect on people; even people as powerful as _you,_ Evanescence." It spat my name as if it were a joke. I was frozen in place, held down by those horrible eyes. He laughed humorlessly, "But with me, you will be doing anything _but _evanesce. With me, your power will _unleash._"

I wanted to scream for all I was worth as the demon glided toward me. _What **is** this thing!_

It laughed again, this time louder. I vaguely acknowledged Mr. O. cower still, but with hope in his piggy eyes that maybe this 'Grigori' and his master had forgotten about his failure and their yet unleashed wrath. "I am, as of yet, nothing, but at the same time everything that people fear. I am nameless, except for my legends in Japanese lore. They call me _Sasayaki Noroi. _I believe you know what that means."

_Whispered Curse._ I could only blink in response; I was mute and frozen by fear. (AN: I'm sorry to those people who know the structure of the Japanese language—all I have is a Japanese dictionary, so Sasayaki Noroi's name is translated literally…..yeah…. :) )

Sasayaki Noroi glided further, still. "I see you have many questions. Don't worry about them now; we'll have _plenty_ of time to answer them." He grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me up. His bare knuckles against my skin were so cold it burned. I couldn't breathe as I felt him forcing me back into my body.

Only problem was, he was forcing himself in with me.

&&&

Sasayaki and I were locked in a psychological battle, fighting to the death over who will control my body, and I was losing, for lack of a better word, _badly_.

When we were back at the BPRD, I was near death; Sasayaki had won. When my body was coming to, I was lying unconscious in the depths of my own mind. For some reason, though, I wouldn't, or _couldn't_ die.

------------------(AN: Because this story is in the POV of Evan, it'll switch back and forth from first to second person depending on who's in control of Evan's body.)

Hellboy watched as Evan's eyes slowly shut again; she was coming to. When she opened her eyes again, they were completely jet black. She groaned, "Where am I?"

"You're at the BPRD again, Kid." He helped Evan into a seating position. While she rubbed her eyes and combed through some pieces of her short, dishwater blonde hair, Hellboy noticed the change in her eyes. "Ya feelin' okay?" He gestured toward her face.

"You mean my eyes?" Hellboy nodded. She responded simply, "They always do that after I astral project." Hellboy noticed there was something different about her, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. It might have been the way she acted now, or the way she moved when she inspected her hands, possibly for injury. Just barely, he heard Evan murmur in a singsong voice, to him or herself, he wasn't sure.

"I'm baaaack…."

&&&&&&&&&

Ooh...cliffie. Sorry.' x ' I'm also sorry it's short (dodges randomly thrown Hellboy stuff). I'll try to get the next chap up soon.

Until then, please leave a review and thanks:)


	9. Okay, no more bad movie puns

**So you don't sue me (aka: disclaimer): **I own nothing of Mike Mignola's or Guillermo's Hellboy. IDO own the character Evan (but not her name), and her personality. If you want to use her for anything, ask me through review or one of those nifty little messages (if you're a member).  
I also don't own the concept of Tarot cards. My brother owns a little mini pack, and that's all. (Just as a little note as well: my friend did a simple reading for me, and my card, or the cardwhose description fits my personality,was the Paige of Cups, and that's where that came from.)

AAH! I am SOOOOO sorry I haven't updated in forever! My schedule has been busier than EVER before in my LIFE! It's been driving me nuts. Especially because I recently did this _Hamlet_ production with a local theater guild, and for two weeks, I had to practice for three hours a day! And I was just an extra! It was a blast, though.  
And I changed the title! Because I didn't know where this was going at first, I didn't have many ideas for a title. So I changed it now I know what I wanna do, and if you're confused as to why I picked what I did, it explains itself in this chapter. You'll see. :)

Anyway...I want to give a VERY special thanks to epalladino for stickin' with me through the suckiness of part of this story, as well as the ridiculously long breaks between chapters. I know I wasn't the best writer at first (I really hope I've grown as an author), and this story was started before I was even a member, so it was sort of just a leisurely thing. I never really thought what I'd to with it. But so I planned out the rest of the story (sadly, there isn't much left, but I've been thinking of starting another HB fic), and I've tied a lot of the loose ends.  
I would also like to thank her for giving me a little inspiration. Whenever someone reviews, I want to check out what they've got up, if they're a member. I found that Beth is a professional Tarot card reader, and I got a little inspiration from that. So...yeah. MANY THANKS, BETH! -hugs-

A big thank you goes out to all my other little reviewers out there as well. You guys make the world go 'round! -hugs all around-

Okay. Happy Winter Solstice and winter holidays to all!  
Hope you like!  
**--Trii**

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"ALRIGHT, I WANT THAT KID **OUT**!" Manning stormed through the lavish wooden doors into Broom's office, his face beet red.

Professor Broom and Abe looked up from the ancient volume they were both looking at, Abe wearing the device that assisted his breathing out of water. "Please calm down, Thomas. Now, please, tell me _calmly _what happened."

Manning took a deep breath and held it until his face was not maroon, but blue. He released the gulp of air quickly, took another, and repeated the process until the pigment of his skin returned to normal. "I was changing the kid's bandages from her burns, and saw that they were completely healed! It should take _weeks_ with the extent of those injuries!"

Broom shook his head, remaining calm, "Now, Thomas, you know as well as I that some, er, _beings_ heal faster than others. Just take Hellboy or Abe, for example." Tom Manning's gaze quickly flicked to the few waterproof bandages wrapped around Abe's arms, mostly, from the attack that Evan had envisioned, then back to Broom.

"I _know,_ but there's another thing, too. Did you see her _eyes?" _If not for knowing Manning's personality, Broom would've figured the man had gone completely mad.

"Yes. Quite fascinating, isn't it? Not much of a poker face, now, is she?" Broom chuckled a little at his joke.

"Can we _please_ get serious now, Professor? _There's something wrong with that kid."_

Broom opened his mouth to reply, but before he could utter a sound, Abe's walkie-talkie was flashing blue; an alert concerning the whereabouts of a supernatural creature. Hellboy had once called it the Welcome Wagon, but since last year, it has just been 'another day in the office'.

Abe, Hellboy, and Manning met John Myers (Thanks for the spell check, epalladino!) and Evan at the dreaded garbage truck, Evan filling her companions in on the situation in the back.

Sitting down on one of the benches bolted to the floor of the truck as it started up, Evan reported, "I had a vision. There's a haunting at an old building downtown. We're going to do an intervention." She pulled a stack of Tarot cards from a bag next to her and put them in her black BPRD trench coat. She had gotten the jacket shortly after her two visions in a row. When she had opened the box containing the BPRD 'signature' jacket, her face had lit up and she exclaimed that she finally had a 'Matrix' jacket of her own.

Hellboy glanced at Evan's bare forearms when she rolled up the jacket's sleeves, recalling what Manning had said maybe ten minutes ago. Evan's black eyes followed Hellboy's yellow ones and she hastily shoved the sleeves back down again, masking a glare. She fell silent and turned to stare out the double-sided window.

-----------------------------------------

When the Squeaky Clean garbage truck pulled to a halt in a dead end and parked, Hellboy, Abe, and Evan got up to head out to the older building. Each walkie-talkie buzzed to life as they heard John's voice on the other line, _"Wait just a minute until there's no one around. I think someone's watching."_ While Abe waited patiently, there was a foreboding air with Evan and Hellboy. _Apparently_, Abe thought to himself, _Evan likes being caged in no more than Hellboy._

Abe gently reached into Evan's mind, just to make sure she was really all right. There was a strange animosity about her lately that even someone who has only known Evan for as short a time as Abe has would know something was amiss.

The merman flinched and recoiled almost immediately; Evan seemed to have replaced her protective mental brick wall with an electric, barbed-wire fence. The girl shifted her piercing gaze over to Abe, giving him a death glare while pressing down on his mind, "Do that again, Fish Stick. I dare you." Her voice was slightly deeper now, and much more menacing.

"Kid!" Hellboy gave Evan a sharp stone rap on the head, "Not cool."

Before Hellboy could move, Evan snapped up a hand and caught Hellboy's in a white-knuckled grip. She turned and opened her mouth to say something when the large door banged open, John and Manning waiting on the other side, each equipped with a crucifix and holy beads.

"Ready to go?" Myers asked in his upbeat voice. He seemed to struggle to plaster a smile on his face; since his first mission with the Bureau against Rasputin and Karl Kroenen, the horrifying image of his new friend, Hellboy, with a savageness and lust for pain on his red face had been permanently burned into his memory. Since then, John was _slightly_ more cautious around Hellboy.

Evan released Hellboy's stone hand and stomped out of the garbage truck, smirking at Manning's pale face as he laid eyes upon her. She jumped down when she reached the ledge, ignoring Myers' helping hand, and walking to the old, run-down building, snatching her Tarot cards from her pocket as she crossed the empty street.

Abe and Hellboy jumped down from the truck, but held back when John asked, "What's with her?"

Abe remained silent. He was still perplexed with Evan's 'electric fence', as well as her uncharacteristic meanness, for lack of a better word.

Hellboy, on the other hand, responded, "Dunno. Maybe hormones, or something." He shrugged, "There's something wrong with that kid."

Manning, who was closing the back of the garbage truck, practically leapt for joy in the fact that he wasn't alone thinking something wasn't right about the young member, even if it was Hellboy who was agreeing with him. Abe 'heard' Manning think, _Hm…Maybe King Kong over here isn't as brainless as I thought._ Before he had time to confirm his jaded suspicions, though, Manning flinched as Hellboy cocked the 'Good Samaritan' with some of his special bullets. _Or maybe not._

The two agents headed their way to the run-down building, Abe deciding it was best if he didn't mount the already uneasy relationship between an ignorant a-hole and a seven foot demon who is quick to anger by saying something. Manning soon followed when he realized he was being left behind.

&&&&&&&&

Myers, Abe, Hellboy, and the muttering Tom Manning entered the creaking threshold of the old establishment, immediately having to hunch over against the wind that seemed determined to push them all outside.

A smoky, transparent figure blew down and, before something could have been said or done, flew straight through Evan, seeming to push pure black smoke out from 'inside' Evan. She, too, was blown back, conveniently onto considerate Tom Manning, who had, eh….decided to break her fall. The Tarot cards slid out of Evan's hand from the force, and they spread randomly across the room, except for four cards that were blown instead into a corner of the single-roomed building, all face down.

Just like that, the wind stopped.

Outside, Manning shoved the unconscious Evan off of him, and Myers came back out to hoist her up. Abe hung a warding amulet on the doorway, so the 'disturbances' won't occur again. "Hm…that was easier than I thought it would be. What do you think?"

Hellboy was kneeled in the corner of the room, turning each card over, one by one. The cards had arranged themselves into somewhat of an upside down T; one on top, three below it. The red demon's brow furrowed when he observed the reading: the Paige of Cups, a fitting personality for Evan—the reading was about her—with the other three cards arranged from left to right: 20-Judgement, 13-Death, and 0-The Fool. The reading translated that Evan was going to 'forgive and forget' and do some soul searching, accept change so rebirth can occur, and have a willingness to leap into the unknown and start over.

He started when he heard Abe's voice, "Huh? Oh, uh…yeah. I guess. Sorta." He seemed quite flustered, and when Abe saw the surprise Tarot reading reflected through Hellboy's mind, he was as well.

"What do you think it means?" Abe said, considering the mysterious fortune himself, a frown creasing deeper into his face.

"Probably nothing." Hellboy scooped the cards up, and went for the rest of the deck, having to lift an old dusty couch to get to some of the stray ones. "Stupid ghosts…" he mumbled.

Myers was waiting patiently, Evan still in his arms, "Ready to go? Tom's already in the truck."

Hellboy shook off the whole Tarot thing. It was probably nothing to worry about. He stuffed Evan's cards into one of the many pockets of his jacket and took the small teenage girl from the former FBI agent.

"Let's blow this pickle joint."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I shivered and groaned as I slowly but surely woke up in a concrete and metal room. We were also, apparently, moving.

"She's waking," I heard someone say in a gentle and wise voice—Abe.

I was still groggy, and a large shadow blocked out some of the blurred light above me. I heard a gruff voice attempting to be gentle and recognized it as Hellboy half-whispering, "Hey, kid. You took quite a bump to the head there."

My memory came flooding back to me as my vision cleared and saw my blue and red friends standing over me in what I was guessing was the garbage truck. I sat up quickly, blurting "What happened to Sasa…" immediately regretting doing so as my body seized up. I didn't notice I was toppling over until I knocked into Hellboy, involuntarily leaning on his massive chest for support as he eased me back down. I protested, finishing, "yaki…"

Hellboy's brow furrowed when he voiced both his and Abe's responses, "Who-sa-whatty?" Okay. Maybe not in the same words…

Abe cocked his head to the side, staring into my face. He murmured, "Your eyes…"

I was lost now. "What?"

"Your eyes." Abe repeated, "They're not black anymore." Perplexed, he continued, fidgeting with his portable water tank around his neck, "What is the last thing you remember?"

I rubbed my forehead with the palms of my hands, trying to prevent a migraine that was coming on fast. I noticed my hands were out of the bandages, and I asked tentatively, "How long was I out?"

"'Bout an hour. Maybe a little more," Hellboy answered, not knowing where I was going with this.

My brow furrowed, partly from confusion, and partly from the annoying, blinding light that was _right_ in my eye. "What's the date?"

Abe answered, "It's November 5th. Why?"

I gasped; I haven't been out for an hour or so, I've been out for about two and a half days! I replied, "Cuz last time I checked, it was the third!"

Abe was quite perplexed now, and he asked again, "What is the last thing you remember?"

The migraine was coming on full blast on me now. It felt as if I had been run over by the very truck we were in. "I dunno. I feel kinda…'bleh'…right now."

We all stood (or laid) in silence for a few moments, all confused, when Abe seemed to have an idea. He shifted uncomfortably, apparently uneasy with it. He fidgeted with his water tank again as he asked tentatively, "With your consent, I can help you with remembering…" He seemed uneasy about probing my mind; I had no clue why. When he had tried in Broom's lab, I couldn't think of any reasons why that instance could make him uneasy. Unless…something might've happened when I was out.

"Okay." I said a little hesitantly.

Abe seemed to have a large weight come off of his chest. He relaxed a bit, took off one of his leather gloves, and placed his webbed, suction-cupped hand over my forehead and eyes. I closed my eyes, slowing my breathing and trying to relax and stay calm. I didn't like beings poking around inside my mind or sifting through my memories. But it had to be done. I inhaled sharply as Abe started delving into my thoughts. It was all I could do not to throw him out. It really helped that Abe calmed me down, though. It's interesting how one psychic's emotions can effect another's.

I focused on the slightly damp coolness of Abe's hand, his smooth skin rather refreshing against mine. Abe started going through my recent memories, and the most recent he could find (not including now) were when I astral projected two days ago. He found absolutely nothing between those gaps. I was out cold the whole time.

He did, however, find some interest in the black shadow, Sasayaki Noroi. The same fear instilled in me when in Mr. O's apartment room came flooding back and tears came to my eyes, remembering the sheer terror I felt but could not express in front of him and his servant.

I also felt Abe's emotions through our connection, including his fear of Sasayaki, though because a memory is just a reflection of the past, he didn't feel the same fright I did, and a strange disbelief that the bald Russian man behind Sasayaki should be there.

The string of memories 'fast-forwarded' to where Sasayaki tried to take over my body, and eventually succeeded. Everything went blank, of course, when I was knocked out. The next recollection to come up was the one in the garbage truck.

Abe pulled back from my thoughts, comforting me as best he could. When we both opened our eyes, back in the present, Hellboy waiting for the 'results'. But I didn't care. I threw my arms around Abe, sobbing into his spandex-clad shoulder. The merman comforted me as best he could, filling Hellboy in on the information.

"Grigori Rasputin is back." Abe was aware this would be of most importance to Hellboy, to know that his 'father' had indeed not been killed. "And he's found a new ultimate power to serve. It's name is Sasayaki Noroi, and he tried to take over Evan's body. That was why she was acting so strangely lately. I believe the spirits haunting the building we were just in expelled Sasayaki from Evan."

When I calmed down, Abe helped me settle back onto the makeshift bed on one of the benches in the back of the truck. "You should rest a little more. We can sort this all out later." I nodded lazily, the last couple of days catching up with me, though I was unconscious for most of the time. I fell asleep, Abe and Hellboy heatedly discussing something as quietly as they could.

-----------------------------------------

I woke finding myself in the now familiar medical lab back at the BPRD. Hellboy was standing over me, Manning was scribbling something on a clipboard, and Abe was watching from a distance, seeming happy to be back in his tank. I smiled peacefully, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "'Sup?" I asked groggily.

Manning grumbled and left the room. I believe he mumbled something about how this job will kill him some day, or at least make him insane. Hellboy settled into a large stool near my bed, "How ya holdin' up, Kid?"

I shrugged, "Eh. Been better." I eased into a sitting position, Hellboy getting some extra pillows to prop me up.

He nodded back. "I can sympathize." We both laughed, a little uneasily, I might add, at both the statement and at Hellboy's rather weak attempts at small talk.

I decided to change the subject, "D'you know what I think is kind of…odd?"

Hellboy looked up, seeming to be interested in what I had to say. "What?"

"People are never happy with what they have. We always wish for a normal life, just to do nothing all day and be pleasantly ignorant of what exists in the night. But people who are 'normal' always wish for something more. Whether it is to be a celebrity or to be like us, they think anything is better than their boring lifestyle. We never know what we have until it's gone."

Hellboy nodded, "That's deep, Kid. Where'd you get that? A fortune cookie?"

I laughed and punched him playfully in the arm, "Shut up.

"But seriously, it's like we're all on the outside looking in. We see this world that looks so great, and we think, 'why can't I have that?' It's like…have you ever looked into a Starbucks?" Hellboy blushed slightly, shrugging like it was a stupid thing to do, but admitting to it anyway. I smiled, "It's okay. I have, too. But, it's like you see all the people walking around or sipping their coffee, looking so happy and peaceful, and _normal_, but you never really notice the person sitting in the corner, looking out the window and daydreaming their 'what-if's."

I sighed. "Sorry about my little rambling. I do that sometimes." Hellboy waved a hand as if it was no big deal.

"On a more serious note, though," I continued, "What did Sasayaki do to you guys while I was out? Did he hurt any of you?"

Hellboy's brow furrowed, "You—_he_—didn't really _hurt_ any of us. But when Abe was worried about you, he tried to reach into your mind or whatever and you—dangit, _he, _sorry—hurt him a little, but I think he's fine." He looked over to his amphibious companion, who nodded his agreement.

I, however, didn't take it so lightly. My eyes flashed an angry red as I pushed myself out of bed until Hellboy interrupted, pushing me back on. I protested, "You guys are my family now! I won't let some butthole demon try to take over my body and hurt you!" I used my teke to freeze him in place long enough for me to run to my room to get prepared to fight Sasayaki. Stupid, I know, but I won't tolerate _anyone _hurting my friends.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I geared up, strapping on various types of weaponry, including athemaes, grenades (I had heard they were useful in last year's epic battle with Rasputin), and I even swiped Hellboy's Good Samaritan. After loading it with special bullets that are able to hit intangible targets (i.e.: ghosts), I covered it all with my 'Matrix' BPRD coat.

I knew I needed transportation other than just walking up to wherever Sasayaki was (I didn't know exactly where; I just had a gut feeling that I think will lead me to the right place), so I used the ventilation system to get to the underground garage and picked out a cool black dirtbike modified to fit in on the streets but still be able to go offroading. Not bothering to grab a helmet, I used my telekinesis to turn the 'key' and start the engine, opening the door just enough for me to slip out unnoticed.

The tails of my jacket flew behind me as I let my instincts guide the way to Sasayaki, getting more impatient at every red light. I blocked out any second thoughts that might've come to my head by listening to the sometimes-deafening city sounds. Whenever someone drove by with their radio blaring some sort of noise, I tried to see if I could recognize the song.

My instincts ultimately led me back to the old warehouse I was in when I had met Hellboy. Shutting off the engine, I crept along the back until I found a window about thirty feet up. With my teke, I boosted myself up to the ledge, hoping my inconsistent balance wouldn't fail me, picked the lock, and jumped down. I was immediately blasted back into a stack of crates with a blast of black fire, my aching back gotten from the haunted building coming returning to…you guessed it: haunt me.

"They never teach children anything these days," I heard the Russian man I now knew as the legendary Rasputin hiss at me, Sasayaki brushing imaginary dust from his black, smoky hands.

"Indeed, they don't. But no matter; she has already given herself to me. All we need now is the sealing spell." I had no time to think of what that meant. All I knew was that I was against probably the two most powerful beings in this dimension, and Sasayaki was approaching me.

I hastily pushed myself back up with my powers, pulled out the Samaritan, loaded it, and pulled the trigger. There was a satisfying _BANG_ that echoed throughout the concrete room, but when I expected to see my enemy double over in agony, pain instead exploded right beneath my ribcage, as if I was the one getting shot at. I screamed, falling to my knees and clutching my stomach.

Sasayaki, unfazed, approached me still, "Foolish child. I suppose you are ignorant of the accursed bond between us. It is the only thing that had restrained me from killing you when you were born."

Despite my pain, I was able to give him such a glare that, if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot. Reaching into my coat, I hurled a handful of throwing stars at Rasputin. If I wasn't able to hurt Sasayaki in any way, I would at least be able to get at his accomplice, who I assumed would be the one to perform the 'binding spell', which I assumed was not a good thing. Unfortunately, I wasn't a very good thrower when on my knees and feeling like a one-inch wide bullet had just shot me. Plus, 'quaking in my boots' was a complete understatement. I was shaking violently with terror, increasingly so as Sasayaki continued to approach me. Once he was standing right over me, a mere twitch of his eye sent me sprawling across the hundred foot long warehouse, almost completely crashing through the bare wall on the other side.

Blood trickled from my mouth and back of my head, and I had felt some vertebrae and ribs snap as I made contact with the reinforced concrete. I was in a coma before I hit the ground five feet below.

&&&&&&&

_I woke up in an endless, shimmering white room. Before me, two gleaming lights floated side by side, the centers of them a little darker, like the silhouette of a person in the middle of a ridiculously bright stage light._

_An echoing voice came from one, a shining human figure forming from the shadow in the center. It sounded feminine, and had a strangely familiar sound to it, "Yin, honey, I'm so glad to see you."_

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M'kay. Hope you liked!

Oh! Before I forget: you see that purple 'Submit Review' button down there? Yup, that one. It wants you to click it.  
;)  
Happy Holidays!

**--Trii**


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